It’s Feb. 1, National Wear Red Day and the culmination of a work week that began with two new content series in Health Imaging.

On Jan. 28, we published "Slides: Do's and don'ts of effective reporting." Based on a RSNA 2012 poster, Mark Mamlouk’s presentation sums best (and worst) practices in radiology reporting and is definitely worth checking out. We plan to roll out additional slide decks, videos and reader-contributed features on a regular basis this year. Keep an eye out and let us know what you think.

We also published the first article in a series of profiles of lung cancer screening programs—"Mammo, cardiac bypass programs offers lessons for lung cancer screening." During the next month, we’ll feature lung cancer screening operations from a variety of angles, including biomarker development and non-academic practices. With these series, we aim to explore key issues in radiology through the eyes and experiences of our readers.

In other news this week, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the Alzheimer’s Association published the first appropriate use criteria for amyloid imaging. However, this collaborative effort appeared to have little effect on the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC), which cited “low to intermediate confidence” in existing evidence regarding the impact of beta-amyloid PET imaging on health outcomes on Jan. 30. Reimbursement likely faces an uphill climb.

Also this week, Mayo Clinic researchers reminded their colleagues that appropriateness criteria may not be a complete fix. Revised CT angiography appropriate use criteria, updated in 2010, addressed some but not all of the shortcomings identified with the original criteria published in 2006.

However, flurpiridaz PET may address most shortcomings of SPECT MPI. In fact, it may be close to an ideal myocardial perfusion tracer, according to Daniel S. Berman, MD, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and colleagues. Berman et al documented the radiotracer’s superior performance in a phase II study.

As you peruse our site and reflect on your practice, feel free to send me an email. Do you have suggestions for topics to explore in upcoming web series? What multimedia content best meets your needs? Do you have a contributed feature to share with your peers?

I look forward to hearing from you. Have a terrific day.

Lisa Fratt, editor

lfratt@healthimaging.com